The CDC reports a rare transplant‑transmitted rabies event that began when a skunk scratched an Idaho resident in late October 2024. Genetic testing found rabies virus RNA in a kidney recipient’s saliva, nuchal skin and brain tissue, linking the donor to the recipient. Investigators believe a rabid bat infected the skunk, which then infected the donor; the case is likely the fourth U.S. transplant‑transmitted rabies event since 1978. Three cornea grafts from the donor were later removed as a precaution and a fourth transplant was cancelled; those recipients remained asymptomatic.
Rare Rabies Chain From Idaho Skunk Linked to Two Deaths, Including Kidney Transplant Recipient
The Donor Risk Assessment Interview (DRAI) questionnaire reported that the donor had received a skunk scratch. (NurPhoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A skunk scratch on a rural Idaho resident set off an unusually rare and deadly chain of events that federal investigators say resulted in two deaths: the original animal bite victim and a later organ recipient.
Likely transmission chain: rabid silver‑haired bat → skunk → organ donor → kidney recipient, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported.
The CDC said the incident is believed to be only the fourth known transplant‑transmitted rabies event in the United States since 1978. According to investigators, the donor was scratched by a skunk in late October 2024 while holding a kitten on his rural property. Family interviews later provided details not captured on the standard Donor Risk Assessment Interview (DRAI).
About six weeks after the skunk scratch the donor became ill with confusion, difficulty swallowing and walking, and hallucinations, and subsequently died. In December, a Michigan man received the donor’s left kidney at an Ohio hospital; he died about six weeks after the transplant.
Laboratory testing detected rabies virus RNA in the kidney recipient’s saliva, nuchal skin and brain tissue, supporting the link between the donor and recipient. The CDC described the chain as a likely three‑step transmission beginning with a rabid bat that infected the skunk.
Cornea Transplants and Precautions
Corneas recovered from the Idaho donor were transplanted into three patients in California, Idaho and New Mexico in December and January. As the investigation progressed, those three cornea grafts were removed out of an abundance of caution, and a planned fourth corneal transplant to a Missouri patient was cancelled. Officials reported that the three cornea recipients were asymptomatic at the time of the report.
Public health officials are continuing their investigation and outreach to affected patients and clinicians. The CDC and local health departments emphasize that such transplant‑transmitted rabies events are extremely rare, while underscoring the importance of thorough donor screening and rapid communication when potential exposures come to light.
What to watch for: Anyone with possible mammal bites or unusual neurologic symptoms after animal contact should seek medical attention immediately; rabies is preventable if treated promptly before symptoms appear.
